Lorn S. Foster 1 Carnegie

Ext. 72263 Lfoster@pomona.edu

This course has two purposes. One is to introduce you to the major institutions and practices of American politics, both governmental and non-governmental. We will survey the constitutional structure and institutions of American national government, political culture, public opinion and voting, campaigns, elections and political parties; and interest groups. We will also examine several public policies and a number of non-institutional political practices. We will talk — you will read and write — about what they are, where they come from, what they are for, how they have developed, how they work (or don’t) and how we might evaluate them.

The second purpose of this course is to introduce you to a few ways of analyzing American politics. One analytic approach will be normative, a systematic consideration of what is right or wrong with the ways Americans have organized and conducted politics, and how Americans’ views of right and wrong have evolved. A second approach will be legal and institutional, exploring the changing doctrines and rules that guide and constrain political practices. The third approach will be social scientific, searching for a clear description of empirical reality and investigating alternative causal explanations of that reality.

The class will also break into smaller groups once a week to work in a "laboratory" setting to explore those same issues in a more interactive, hands-on way. Among other things, the lab sessions will introduce you to the wide array of information readily available through the World Wide Web (www) and through on-line commercial data bases like Lexis/Nexis. We will also use various data bases to introduce you to the use of statistical data and analysis of American politics. This component of the course is relatively new, and I will be continuing the development of the lab assignments as the semester progresses, so I ask you to be patient. Though the conventional classroom and lab components of the course will not always coincide perfectly at every point, they are intended to complement each other, to enable you to understand and analyze politics in a variety of increasingly sophisticated ways.

Brewster and Brown, The Public Agenda

de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Greenberg and Page, The Struggle for Democracy

Hoover and Donovan, The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking

I will occasionally place additional readings on reserve, hand them out in class, or link them to the web. Because we will talk about current politics, especially in this election year, it would be helpful to you if you read a good daily newspaper, such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal. You should also use Netscape or some other browser tot rack down and read materials on the Web.

The grading in the course will be based on the following:

• Participation 10% (discussion and WebX postings)
• Examinations 60% (midterms, 15% each, and final 30%)
• Laboratory 30%

Brewster & Brown, Introduction

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 1 & 4

Frontline, "Betrayal of Democracy"

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 2-3

Federalist X & LI

Maryland v. Craig

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha

United States Term Limits v. Thorton

Hoover & Donovan, Chapters 1-3

de Tocqueville, Part I

de Tocqueville, Books 2 & 4

* Smith, "Beyond de Tocqueville...Multiple Traditions in America"

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 12-13

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 11 & 7

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 14 & 16

Brewster & Brown, Chapter 5

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 7-10

Greenberg & Page, Chapters 5, 6 & 10

Brewster & Brown, Chapter 1

Greenberg & Page, Chapter 17

Brewster & Brown

Brewster & Brown, Chapters 2 & 6